Rezzed Hands-On: Montague’s Mount

Probably one of the most atmospheric looking games at the Rezzed expo this year was Montague’s Mount, developed by Polypusher Studios. In the game, you have been shipwrecked on a seemingly desolate and uninhabited island somewhere near Ireland. You need to explore the island and discover its secrets in order to try and get off it.

Montague’s Mount is a psychological thriller which involves you exploring this island and trying to figure out what’s happening. Initially, with its exploration and story narration, this game reminded me a lot of Dear Esther, and certainly there are some basic similarities between the two. However, the major difference is the interactive element of Montague’s Mount.

As you make your way around the island, you’ll find various puzzles that need solving. There are various items you can pick up along the way in order to progress, however you can only carry five items at once, so there will be a bit of retreading old ground in some cases to get everything you need. An example of this is that, in order to open a door, you need to place six candles in a mechanism. Also, solving one puzzle can give you what you need to complete another. So putting the gears into a machine allows you to open a cabinet on the ground that contains a candle.

All the while, as you explore the various nooks and crannies of the island, a story is narrated to you. The weather effects add to the overall atmosphere of the game as you investigate, finding broken generators, chain gates and dead bodies slumped on tables, leaving you to wonder what happened. It’s quite immersive and makes you think a lot.

The demo was relatively short, but left me wanting more. It certainly made me wish that this was what Dear Esther was like. Montague’s Mount is scheduled for release sometime in July. You can find out more at the official website and you can vote for Montague’s Mount on Steam Greenlight here.

About Mike Jones

Mike is Brutal Gamer's Indie Editor. He has been playing video games since the early 90s and is fond of racing games, puzzlers and MMOs. Typing /played while in WoW makes him cry, but not enough to stop him playing some more.